Beheading the Chinese Prisoner

Beheading the Chinese Prisoner
Produced bySiegmund Lubin
Release date
  • 1900 (1900)
Running time
42 seconds
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent

Beheading the Chinese Prisoner, also known as Beheading a Chinese Prisoner, was a 1900 silent film produced by Siegmund Lubin. The 42-second-long film, which was inspired by news reports of the Boxer Rebellion, was produced on the roof of the Lubin Studios building in Philadelphia.[1][2]

It is considered an early example of "yellowface", and is featured in Arthur Dong's 2007 documentary film Hollywood Chinese.[3][4]

Description of the film

A Chinese prisoner is tried before one of the chiefs, and being found guilty, is sentenced to be beheaded, which sentence is immediately executed. The executioner displays the head to the spectators to serve as a warning for evil doers. Very exciting.

— Lubin Catalog, 1903.

Status

A print of Beheading is kept in the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film.[5]

References

  1. ^ Eckhardt, Joseph P. (1997). The King of the Movies: Film Pioneer Siegmund Lubin. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. pp. 34. ISBN 0-8386-3728-0.
  2. ^ Fullerton, John (1998). Celebrating 1895: The Centenary of Cinema. Indiana University Press. p. 280. ISBN 1-86462-015-3.
  3. ^ Diversity of Talent and Spirit, from the New York Times, by Nathan Lee; published May 2, 2008; retrieved August 18, 2011
  4. ^ The History Of 'Hollywood Chinese' Archived 2011-06-29 at the Wayback Machine, from AsianWeek, by Philip W. Chung; published April 11, 2008; retrieved August 18, 2011
  5. ^ "Film Stills Title List". Archived from the original on March 15, 2009. Retrieved 2011-08-18.


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